1. Technical Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a soft starchy chewing gum, more particularly to a chewing gum having a consistency similar to a soft rice cake and containing a preparation or glue including a source of an .alpha.-starch of substantially consisting essentially of amylopectin in substitution for a portion or all of sweeteners normally used in chewing gums.
2. Discussion of Material Information
Prior to the present invention, several types of chewing gum have been proposed which are soft or do not harden in an atmosphere of low temperature (for example, Japanese Patent Publication No. 46347/82, Japanese Opened Application No. 78560/81 and Japanese Opened Application No. 198051/82). These types of chewing gum, however, relate to gum base compositions, but not to chewing gum per se including a gum base, a malt honey, other sweeteners (such as sugars and artificial sweeteners), flavors and softeners. In the manufacture of chewing gum, it is generally known that malt honey or other softening agents (such as glycerol) can be added in an increased amount in order to maintain a soft consistency of the chewing gum. It is also well-known that malt honey may be included not only as a sweetener but also for the purpose of imparting softness to chewing gum. Those skilled in the art also recognize that the softening effect may be enhanced by the solution of sugars or sugar alcohols, an aqueous solution of vegetable gum, as well as softeners, such as glycerol and propylene glycol. Although these prior art techniques may impart the softness to the chewing gum at a relatively low temperature they can not maintain the softness at a low temperature below 0.degree. C., such as -10.degree. C. accordingly, chewing gums tend to harden at these temperatures which leads to brittleness in texture and deterioration of taste.
It is also well-known that sugars of low sweetness, such as glucose, lactose, maltose or dextrin, may be utilized in substitution for sucrose or saccharose in order to reduce the sweetness of the chewing gum. However, these ingredients suffer from disadvantages which include effecting a powdery feeling and of significantly hardening the chewing gum due to agglutination.
It has now been found, as a result of diligent study for producing a chewing gum capable of maintaining its softness throughout a year even at a low temperature, that substitution of a preparation including an .alpha.-starch consisting essentially of amylopectin for a portion or all of the malt honey achieves an improved soft chewing gum. By selecting other sugars in combination with the preparation or glue including a .alpha.-starch, the chewing gum of low sweetness may be obtained, which is able to keep its softness at a low temperature even below 0.degree. C.
Further, it has now been found that, in case of chewing gum containing the preparation including .alpha.-starch, an increased water content of up to about 12%, which traditionally has been thought to cause the quality of the chewing gum to deteriorate, may be used to provide a novel type of chewing gum having a consistency similar to a soft rice cake.
Accordingly, an object of the invention is to provide a soft starchy chewing gum capable of maintaining its softness at a low temperature below 5.degree. C. or even below 0.degree. C.
Another object of the invention is to provide a soft chewing gum of low sweetness containing dextrin of DE 2 to 50 as a main sweetener in combination with the preparation including .alpha.-starch.
A further object of the invention is to provide a novel type of chewing gum having a consistency similar to a soft rice cake and yet exhibiting characteristics of chewing gum.
A still further invention is to provide a soft starchy chewing gum of a rice cake-like consistency, which encloses or contains a center filling, such as bean jam, jelly or the like.